Is Alec Baldwin a Racist Jerk or Paparazzi Victim?

This is Alec Baldwin filmed today by TMZ near his apartment on E. 10th Street in Manhattan. In the video, Baldwin remains silent when asked about the alleged racial slurs he made against a New York Post photographer.

It’s alleged that when asked by a New York Post photographer and reporter about a lawsuit involving his wife, Baldwin insulted and threatened the reporter and photographer. He reportedly called the paparazzo a “coon.” The 30 Rock star refused to believe the man when he said he was an ex-NYPD officer, with Baldwin tweeting later that the NYPD didn’t employ “crackheads.”

The photographer in question is named G.N. Miller and is in fact a 15-year detective veteran of the NYPD.

New info on the audio tape of the confrontation between Baldwin and the Post photog. Sources tell us … there is NO mention of a racial slur on the tape. And, we’re told, the initial story — that Baldwin allegedly said “I want to choke you to death” — is incorrect. We’re told in fact Baldwin said, “I want you to choke to death,” which is exactly what Baldwin claimed he said.

Baldwin gave an interview to Gothamist in which he told his side of the story, claiming the photographer assaulted him:

I get to the other side of the street, and he bumped into me.” He believes it was a very deliberate provocation: “He banged into me with his shoulder, because he was right on top of me with the camera, in my mind, it was deliberate. I’ve had that happen before. It happens sometimes, because they want to bait you, they want you to do something…

The actor goes on to say that the photographer was still outside his apartment after Baldwin called the NYPD to make a complaint against the reporter and the paparazzo. He wondered on Twitter why the photographer didn’t mention the alleged racist abuse when asked about the incident by the NYPD at the scene:

@gothamist Here’s another:Why did the photographer make no mention of this when the cops showed up? Cops make rather good witnesses

New York state Senator Malcolm Smith has weighed in on the issue, telling TMZ that NBC should make Baldwin attend anger-management courses.

Baldwin has had previous run-ins with the paparazzi, and the Post finished its story about Sunday’s incident by saying:

Last June, the day before his wedding, Baldwin shouted to a black photographer on the street, “You gotta back up there, Rodney.”

The photographer’s name wasn’t Rodney.

In 2011, the Post also reported that Baldwin was thrown off of an American Airlines flight in Los Angeles for being beligerent with staff when he was asked to turn off his phone. A passenger, Steve Weiss, was quoted by the paper as saying:

Apparently he said he was playing a game, but he was actually talking on the phone. She [the flight attendant] was very nice. The door was closed they just announced that they were pulling away from the gate. He got up threw his papers on the floor stormed into the bathroom slammed the door closed, beat on the wall and then came back…

Baldwin lampooned the incident when hosting Saturday Night Live and in commercials for Capital One credit cards. He also apologized for the outburst.